The Path to Revenge: The Past
by Alyson Metallium
Summary: DARK WARNING! What is she doing here? Learning the art of revenge.


**Warning, disclaimer, notes, whatever:** This is my first attempt at a dark fic, and I think I might have gone overboard on some things. I dunno. Just to let you know, I was in a really bad mood when I wrote this, and I'm still in a bit of a rotten mood, but I certainly feel better. ^^ Anyway, if you're offended by blood, body parts flying, rape, or assault, do NOT read this. Like I said, I think I went overboard. Comments and criticism is more than welcome, flames will be trashed. Thanks.  
  
  
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**The Path to Revenge: The Past.  
**   
The Sword master watched as his most talented student practiced her moves on a target dummy that had been set up for her. He watched with pride and a little awe as she quickly turned the wooden figure into a pile of limbs and saw dust. She then paused, standing with the tips of the two swords facing away from her, her head bowed, looking like a lethal angel mourning over her victim. She then straightened up, and sheathed her swords on her back.  
  
"She's amazing!" a young male voice breathed in awe, and the Sword master turned to find Miwa gazing at his prize student. "How long has she been training under you?"  
  
"Three years," the Sword master answered as the young woman turned to focus on a new target, whipping her swords out of their holder and going on the attack.  
  
"Only three years?! Did she train under someone else prior to coming to you?" Miwa asked, not taking his eyes from the graceful form on the practice field.  
  
"No, she had never touched a sword before she came to us," the Sword master answered. "Those swords there that she's using? They're her own creation. You'll never find a pair of swords like them anywhere in the world."  
  
"How did she get to be so good?" Miwa wondered.  
  
"She ate, drank, breathed, and even slept with her swords. She pushed herself to her limits and beyond and mastered every single technique we could teach her, and even created a few of her own in the small amount of time she's been here. She would spend 18 hours practicing her sword work, only taking breaks to eat and sleep. I have never in all my years of teaching swordsmanship seen someone so dedicated to mastering every single detail of the sword as she has been," the Sword master said.  
  
"So who is she?" Miwa asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.  
  
"Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune," the Sword master answered, and Miwa reeled a little from the shock.  
  
"You don't mean . . "  
  
"Yes, the princess of the fallen kingdom of Saillune," the Sword master said, unruffled.  
  
"What is she doing here?" Miwa asked, stunned.  
  
"Learning the art of revenge."  
  
  
  
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Amelia finished her maneuver in lightening speed, and yet another wooden dummy was turned into shavings for the horse stalls. She carefully resheathed her blades, and signaled to the Sword master that she was leaving the practice field so he could begin his instructions of the younger students. As she made her way over to the watering fountain, she reflected back on the performance of her twin blades, and could find no fault. As she splashed water over her sweating face, she smiled grimly. After eight years of Hell, she was now strong enough to take on the one who haunted her dreams and drove her every waking moment. In fact, she had made her swords with him in mind specifically. She had gone searching for every spare shard of magical amplification stone, stone of binding, and Orihalcon that she could lie, cheat, steal, and buy off of unsuspecting scum and honest merchants. She hadn't cared how she got the stones, and in the end she finally had enough for what she had in mind. It had taken a solid four days of heating the stones and metal shards until they were hot enough to melt together. Once all of the molten materials had mixed evenly, she had proceeded to shape the blades and hilts of the two swords that she used today. It had taken six weeks of work, but her swords were perfect, gleaming in the sunlight whenever she brought them out. They were half her height and slightly curved, the metal mixture giving the blades a slight bluish tint to them that was set off by the black and gold leather she had used to create her hand grips on the hilts. They were incredibly easy to use, so light that she hardly felt any strain on her arms even after a five hour practice session with them. But despite their almost flimsy look, the twin swords had stood up to a solid swing from a cutlass wielded by the school's strongest swordsman without a scratch to them.   
  
To say that Amelia was proud of her swords was an understatement, but you wouldn't know it just to look at her. Her eyes that once sparkled with the zest for life and innocence were as hard as sapphires and held a dangerously maniacal glitter in them that she managed to suppress most of the time. Her hair was slightly longer than it had been years ago, but it was still in the same outward curling style. Amelia found that that suited her, because it kept her hair out of her face when she was practicing, and having no distractions was a benefit that she welcomed eagerly. Her already slim body had been honed and sculpted from the three years of working with the swords, and she moved with an almost cat like grace that put even the Sword master himself to shame at times. Likewise her reflexes had been honed to almost lightening fast, and she could spin and throw a knife with deadly accuracy, though she really preferred the use of her swords. She wore black boots, black pants that were loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough to not hinder her, and a black tank top that molded to her body and left her arms free. The only decoration she wore was the bright red leather belt that slashed across her chest the held the sheaths she kept her swords in.  
  
Amelia turned and watched as the newbies entered the practice field, only to be humiliated as the Sword master disarmed them all within half a second. Amelia felt a small spurt of pride at how far she had come in such a short amount of time, but she stored it in the secret box where all her positive emotions had been locked away for the day when she finally faced Him again. The one who had taken everything from her, her friends, her kingdom, her family, her innocence. Amelia felt the black hatred well up from deep within her soul, and this time she didn't try to tamp it down but let it overwhelm her as she glared at the sun that still shone as brightly as it had the day she had finally escaped. Her only drive was to kill Him.  
  
As her vision began to cloud over with a faint mist of red, Amelia hissed, "Xelloss."  
  
Xelloss had really planned his assault well. Lina's magic was out of commission due to it being "that time of the month," and Amelia had been in Saillune attending diplomatic situations. She had been on her way to the library when the sound of a falling body caught her attention, and she turned to see Xelloss standing over the body of one of her guardsmen, the sharp tip of his staff red with blood. He turned, opened his violet mazoku eyes, and smiled at her before vanishing. Something hit her from behind hard, and Amelia's vision had gone black. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but when she had started to come around an inhuman moaning to her right was the first thing she heard. She forced her swollen lids open, trying not to moan from the constant pounding in her head. As the world came back into focus, the first thing she saw was Lina's nude, bruised and battered body stretched out on a table in the center of the room. Her arms and legs were restrained by heavy looking chains, and there was so much blood covering her entire body that it was impossible to see a single inch of her normally gently tanned skin. Amelia stared in horror as even more cuts appeared on Lina's body and began to ooze blood, but not a sound came from the red head's mouth. She was either unconscious, or in complete shock.   
  
The inhuman moaning came again, and Amelia turned her head to the right, wincing as her movement caused waves of pain to radiate throughout her head and down her spine. When she was able to focus, she found that Gourry had been chained to the wall next to her, his hands stretched over his head and a double layer of chains holding him in place. His blue eyes, once so bright and full of happiness and excitement for the next adventure were now dull with a hint of madness in them. He was staring at Lina's body, occasionally letting out that same, soft, sing-songy moan every time a new slash appeared on Lina's body. His own body had been battered so much that Amelia doubted he'd ever recover the use of his sword arm again, and his long, beautiful blond hair had been shaved off, and multiple cuts and lacerations tattooed his head.  
  
"Damn," a whispered voice came from her left, and Amelia turned and gave a gasp of horror. Zel was chained up next to her, chunks of his stone skin missing as blood oozed out of his wounds and covered the tracks of blood that had already dried. He gazed at Amelia now, his blue eyes full of an impotent rage as he tugged on the chains that held him to the wall.  
  
"Z-Zelgadis-san?" Amelia whispered, wincing slightly from the pain in her head. "What . . .?"  
  
"An excellent question, princess," a cheerful voice called, and the assault on Lina's body ceased as Xelloss appeared in the room. Gourry let out a roar of pure animal rage and lunged at the grinning trickster, only to have his chains suddenly glow red with heat, and the smell of his burning flesh sent a wave of nausea to Amelia's stomach as Gourry screamed in pain and fell back against the wall. "What's going on here," Xelloss said calmly, appearing to ignore the swordsman's pain, but probably eating up the vibes, "Is I'm carrying out my mistresses orders to have the four who pose the largest threat to her eliminated any way I see fit." At this, Xelloss' grin grew wider, and he reached out and caressed one side of Lina's face, who moaned and tried to move her skin away from his touch.  
  
"YOU BASTARD!" Zel roared, and lunged forward, only to be sent crashing back into the wall with another gaping hole in his chest. Amelia gasped in shock, and stared at Xelloss, who calmly placed the point of his staff down on the ground. "I think that's enough fun for today," he said cheerfully, and with a snap of his fingers, Lina was chained against the wall next to Gourry, her head hanging limply to her chest and her arms against the wall above her head. He then vanished, leaving the four alone in the dungeon.  
  
"What, what's going on?" Amelia asked, not really able to put two and two together, her mind still feeling fuzzy from the blow to her head.  
  
"We're going to die," Zel said flatly. "Though I had hoped that he would have spared you, seeing as how you're not as strong in the black arts as Lina or I are."   
  
"What did he do to Lina-san?" Amelia demanded, wincing away from the sight of her friends wrecked body and the sight of Gourry whimpering and trying to strain closer to Lina. "How did he catch you?"  
  
"Lina and Gourry were on their way to visit you in Saillune, and talked me into going with them to search the extensive library for a clue to my cure. He must have been timing Lina's cycle, and when she was at her most vulnerable, he grabbed her and Gourry using some lesser demons, and grabbed me by knocking me out. When I woke up, we were in this dungeon with Lina stretched out on the table like she was when he brought you here. He then proceeded to rape and beat Lina until she passed out from the pain, and even then he still didn't stop. Gourry and I tried to break free, but any time we came close to it something would bash into us, giving me these open wounds and destroying Gourry's arms and hands," Zel said dispassionately. "Now all we can do is watch and wait for our death. Gourry started to go mad from seeing Lina being raped, and now he's the way you see him now."  
  
"How-how long have you been here?" Amelia whispered.  
  
"A week," Zel answered. "That's why I had hopes that he wouldn't get you, as well."  
  
Zel fell silent after that last remark, and Amelia found herself overwhelmed with fear over what was going to happen over the next few days. She didn't have long to wait, as Xelloss returned and quickly strapped her to the table that Lina had been on. She tried to cast attack spells, but found that she was unable to do so. With a grin Xelloss had explained that all of Wolf Pack Island contained a type of magical metal that boosted Mazoku powers, but left human powers weak and ineffectual. Xelloss had then proceed to alternately beat and rape her, using his fists and staff to hit her anywhere and everywhere on her body. Within minutes there wasn't a place inside and out that didn't ache and pull and burn, and Amelia's screams had rendered her hoarse so that she could only emit a small mewling sound as he raped her again. Vaguely she could hear Zelgadis and Gourry yelling in both rage and pain as they strained against their bonds. Time and again she tried to counter attack Xelloss using feel good speeches, but he only laughed and said that the suffering of the other three over rode all positive feelings she could throw at him.   
  
Amelia lost track of all time as the torture went on, alternating between her and Lina. After a few days she had lapsed into silence, the only emotions she could feel were shock and horror at what was happening to them. The only break in the monotony had been when Gourry had succeeded to break his chains despite all pain and had lunged at Xelloss. Xelloss calmly picked up his staff, and ran the pointed end through Gourry's chest, where it broke through the skin in his back. As Gourry fell, his lifeless blue eyes turned to where Lina lay, and Lina let out a scream of hopelessness and despair, her body straining against it's bonds as Gourry's body hit the ground with a thud.  
  
"You bastard!" Amelia and Zel screamed at the same time, with Amelia adding, "Why are you doing these unjust things, Xelloss? We used to be comrades!"  
  
Xelloss turned, his ever present smile fixed on his face as he raised one finger and wiggled it. "It took you long enough to get over your shock and start the justice rant," he replied. "Don't you know, princess, that the world is a very unjust place? It's the survival of the fittest."  
  
"Not when the fighting ground is so biased!" Amelia yelled, her anger finally breaking through the layer of shock that she had been existing in.  
  
"Ooo, you're starting to get feisty!" Xelloss grinned. "I think I'll reward you."  
  
What followed was the worst thing Xelloss could have ever done to her. He used a mind control spell to take over Zel's body, then proceeded to make Zel rape her again and again. Amelia pleaded with him, begging him to wake up and come to his senses, but Xelloss' control was so complete that he didn't even hear her words. Afterwards, there wasn't a place on her body that didn't bleed from the thousands of tiny lacerations Zel's abrasive skin had caused. When Xelloss let up his control on Zel's mind, the chimera had down at Amelia in horror, his eyes saying everything he was feeling.   
  
"The beauty of that spell," Xelloss had said, "Is that I have complete control over his mind and body, but he remembers everything that I did with it." He then vanished, leaving Amelia and Zel bound together on the table, neither able to move as they stared into each others eyes.  
  
"Oh L-sama I'm so sorry Amelia," Zel had said as tears leaked out of Amelia's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "If we find a way out of here alive, I'll make that bastard pay!"  
  
"It-it's not your fault, Zelgadis-san," Amelia had whispered, wincing slightly at the pain in her throat. "Besides, I'm sure that Daddy's looking for me, and he'll come rescue us any day!"  
  
Zel had shaken his head at her optimistic statement, and it was obvious that he was fighting back tears of rage and grief as well. That night, Lina had died without a sound, the shock of Gourry's death sending her over the edge into a welcomed oblivion, leaving only Zel and Amelia to face the continued torture. Xelloss had continued to use Zel as his puppet, knowing that it was tearing both the princess and the chimera up psychologically every time. The open wounds on Zel's body had not healed over, and every time he moved the seal that the dried blood had created broke open and the wounds would begin to weep again. Amelia could tell that the loss of blood was taking it's toll on Zel's body, as he became weaker and weaker every time Xelloss took control. Finally, one day, or had it been night time?, Zel's body had given out, and he had been unable to move despite Xelloss' blows and the demands his mind control spell was making. Xelloss had finally shrugged, and muttered a few words to the red jewel at the head of his staff. The jewel glowed a sickeningly green color, and Xelloss swung it at Zel's neck, severing his head from his body. Amelia hadn't known she's still had the strength to scream, but scream she did, long after Zel's head had stopped rolling on the floor and the spurts of blood had stopped. She had then turned hate filled eyes towards Xelloss, who was casually licking off some blood that had spurted onto his hand.  
  
"Well princess," Xelloss said, "Looks like you're the only one left."  
  
"My Daddy will find me!" Amelia cried defiantly, but Xelloss shook his head at her.  
  
"No, he won't. You see, I've already killed him," he said, and casually reached under the table to pull out Phil's head, his blue eyes lifeless and staring. Amelia stared in horror at Xelloss grotesque present, before darkness mercifully claimed her, and she fainted.  
  
When she came to, she found that she was once again chained to the wall. For a minute, she resigned herself to her fate, utter and complete despair rendering her tired and weak. Then she raised her eyes, and found that Xelloss had kindly placed the heads of Zel, Phil, Gourry and Lina on the table, and arranged them so that they stared at Amelia with eyes that seemed to accuse her of failing them in some way. As Amelia stared at her dead father and friends, she felt something inside her give way, and her limbs filled with an enraged strength. She managed to place her feet against the wall behind her, and began to push with them, pulling at the same time against the wrist cuffs, ignoring the searing pain that shot through her abused body as muscles and tendons began to stretch to the breaking point. Just as she felt her shoulder joints pop out of place, there was a horrible grating sound and the block that her chains had been hooked to pulled out of the wall in a shower of dust and stone chips, falling to the ground in front of her with a thud. Gritting her teeth, Amelia managed to shove her back against the dungeon wall and popped her shoulder's back into place, wincing slightly at the large CRACK her bones made as they returned to where they were supposed to be. She then paused, breathing hard and surveying her handiwork.  
  
"I thought Mazoku would know how to build a better dungeon," Amelia murmured to her audience. "I guess even time will wear away at the best made dungeons."  
  
A search around the cell finally yielded a rusted set of keys, and from their location Amelia figured that Xelloss had placed them in full view of Lina in order to taunt her with her helplessness. After a few fumbled tries, Amelia finally managed to unlock her wrist cuffs, and absently rubbed her raw skin as she contemplated her next move.  
  
"I have to find a way out of the palace without Xelloss or Beastmaster finding me," she said, then proceeded to move to the cell door, stopping to look back once at the heads of her dearest friends and beloved father. "I swear that Xelloss and the Beastmaster's days are numbered."  
  
Amelia couldn't really remember how she had gotten out of the palace, all she knew was that she spent most of the time hiding from guards and praying to whoever was listening that Xelloss wouldn't take a trip to the cell and find her gone. Luck was with her, though, because it appeared that Xelloss had planned to starve her to death, all the time relishing in her physical and mental anguish as she died with her friends and father's lifeless eyes watching.   
  
Amelia had finally made it to the beach that surrounded Wolf Pack Island, and without hesitation she walked into the ocean and began to swim. She ignored the sting of her wounds as the salt water washed over her body, and she didn't spare a thought for sharks, sea dragons, or any other peril that the ocean harbored. Her entire being was focused on getting as far away from Wolf Pack Island as she possibly could, her hatred and anger lending fuel to her already weakened body. Hours passed, and Amelia finally weakened and stopped swimming, turning to float aimlessly on her back, thankful that she wasn't wearing any clothing because the wet material would have only weighed her down. As the sun began to set and the stars came out, Amelia's vision gradually faded and she was lost to oblivion.  
  
The sound of wood creaking had reached her ears, and she had bolted upright, wide awake and ready to fight, terrified angry blue eyes staring at the man who had leapt to his feet at her first movement. "Easy, lassie," the man had said, his soft accent penetrating the red haze that had filled her mind when she had thought Xelloss had caught her. "We won't hurt ye."  
  
Amelia finally focused enough to find a grizzled old man with kind green eyes gazing at her in concern, and then her attention turned to her body to find that all her wounds had been bandaged and her arms were in slings, giving comfort to her shoulder joints and helping them heal. She was wearing an over sized man's T-shirt, and was apparently in the captain's cabin, by the largeness of the bed she was in and the maps and charts that lined the walls of the room. She turned her attention once again to the man, who was holding a bowl of water out to her.  
  
"Here, ye won't be able to use ye'r hands a bit, but if'n ye turn ye'r head up, I ken help ye drink," he had said, and Amelia had nodded, closing her eyes as the soothingly cool liquid passed down her abused throat.  
  
"Where did ye come from?" the man had asked, and Amelia's whispered, "Wolf Pack Island," had caused him to pale considerably as he asked, "Be ye a mazoku?" Amelia had shaken her head in rough denial, then croaked, "How . . ?"  
  
The man, who was called Captain O'Brady, had explained that his lookout had spotted her floating in the ocean, and his men had hauled her on board. The ships doctor had looked to her wounds, and advised that they put her in his quarters for the duration of the trip to prevent both more abuse from the ship hands, and the reopening of her wounds since the captain's cabin was the best taken care of area on the whole ship. Amelia had nodded her thanks, then, feeling safe for the first time in she didn't know how long, she feel into a deal sleep.  
  
Several weeks passed on board the ship, and Amelia's physical wounds healed in time for her to depart the ship when it docked in Sandoria. The captain had never asked what had caused all the frightful wounds to her body, and Amelia had never volunteered any information, only promising that someday she would repay Captain O'Brady for his kindness and the clothing he had had altered to fit her. O'Brady had protested, but Amelia had been insistent, asking him to give her a location that she could send the payment, and he had finally given in, telling her to leave it with the head mistress of an inn in Sandoria, and he would pick it up on his way back. Amelia had thanked him once again, and set off in the direction of Saillune, not knowing what awaited her there.  
  
She certainly hadn't been expecting the devastation that met her eyes when she had crested the final hill and looked down at the blackened spot that had once been the most peaceful and prosperous city in the world. Amelia had run down to the flattened area, finding almost nothing that looked familiar, all the houses and the palace completely obliterated. As she stared at the devastation that surrounded her, Amelia's fists balled in rage as she realized that only one person could have done this. It had been Xelloss' revenge for her escape, knowing that she would have headed for Saillune as fast as she could. With a snarl, Amelia ran in to where the palace had once stood, and rooted around in the blackened wood and plaster that had once been shining walls. With a small cry of triumph, she unearthed a dark blue box, and opened it to reveal several thousand gold Saillune coins. Phil had once shown her where he had hidden an emergency stash of money in case they had had to flee the city for some reason or another. Amelia gathered the box to her chest and for the first time since she had escaped Wolf Pack Island cried for a long time, letting the silent tears slip down her cheeks and splash into the blackened earth.  
  
When night had fallen, she had gotten to her feet and left the ruins of Saillune, never looking back. She had returned to Sandoria and left several hundred gold coins with the head mistress of the inn Captain O'Brady had told her about, then headed to a clothing store and was outfitted with black boots, black pants, and a black tank top. She then had several other black garments created, and while she waited for them to be finished she bought a carrying bag, camping items, and other things that would be needed as she traveled. When she left Sandoria, she headed north, towards the newly built kingdom of Xoana. Zangulas and Martina had been shocked when she had calmly walked past their guards and entered their throne room. Both had heard of the destruction of Saillune, and were able to give her a more complete account of what had happened. According to survivors who had made it to Xoana, hoards and hoards of mazoku had attacked the city, breaking down the magical barrier and leveling all the buildings and killing all the people that they could, including her Uncle Christopher and her grandparents. Amelia hadn't volunteered any information about what had happened to her other than to tell them that her father, Lina, Gourry and Zel had been killed by Xelloss, and that he was most likely after her. Martina, who had mellowed slightly since being married to Zangulas, had graciously offered Amelia a room in the royal suite, but Amelia had politely declined, and left the throne room the same way she had come in, walking calmly past the astonished guards.  
  
The following years were marked by her travels as she hunted up any and all sorcerers and sorceresses that were rumored to know ways of fighting mazoku, and had badgered, begged, and done odd jobs in return for them teaching her the spells that they knew. She even learned a few experimental spells that hadn't been practiced in the field yet, but she didn't care. It was finally when she found an ancient sorceress high in the Mountains of Tears that she learned a valuable mazoku fighting strategy that involved storing all positive feelings in a secret area in the mind, and then bonding them to an Astral spell of some kind, making a particularly deadly combination when used correctly. Amelia had practiced and practiced that technique, and was finally rewarded with the destruction of a mazoku that was slightly less powerful than Xelloss, but that he had unquestionable sent after her.  
  
She had moved on after that, knowing that Xelloss was still tracking her, and knowing that she wasn't yet strong enough to face him and stand a chance of winning. The final stage in her preparation had been to discover the sword school that Gourry had graduated from, and over the course of three years had pushed herself to her limits and beyond in learning everything the school had to teach.  



End file.
